T A M 



by the Danes, Tamworth was almoft, or totally, deftroycd. 

 Ethclfleda, the daughter of the illuilrious Alfred, is faid to 

 have rebuilt it in 913, after the had, by her prudence and 

 valour, freed her brother's dominions from th« invaders. 

 She alfo ereftcd a tower on an artificial mount, which forms 

 the fcite of the prefent caftle ; and here fhe generally rc- 

 fided till her death, in 918. The caftle was beftowcd by 

 William the Conqueror on Robert Marmion, whofe de- 

 fcendants held it till 20 Edward I., when it pafled by mar- 

 riage to the Frcville family ; that of Ferrers fucceeded m 

 the reign of Henry VI. ; and they were followed by tlie 

 Comptons. This venerable fabric is ftill in a good ftate 

 of prcfervation, as to its exterior ; but the infide has dif- 

 fered much from age and ncgleft. Tbe rooms are numerous, 

 but ill-fuited to the liberal domeftic manners of the prefent 

 era ; and the whole is chiefly attraftive as a monument of 

 antiquity. The town of Tamworth is large and well-built. 

 It was incorporated by queen Elizabeth on a fcale pecu- 

 liarly liberal : the corporation confifts of two bailiffs, a re- 

 corder, high fteward, under fteward, a town-clerk, and 

 twenty-four principal burgeffes : one of the bailiffs is chofen 

 from each county. Tamworth has fent two reprefentatives 

 to parliament ever fince the year 1563. The right of elec- 

 tion is in the inhabitants paying fcot and lot : and the 

 members are returned jointly by the (heriffs of Warwickfliire 

 and Staffordfhire. The church is a fpacious edifice. The 

 mod ancient portion exhibits two round-headed arches, em- 

 bellifhed with zig-zag mouldings : whence it feems probable 

 that the original edifice was conftrufted foon after the Con- 

 queft. The church was rendered collegiate by the Marmion 

 family at an early period for a dean and fix prebendaries ; 

 with feveral lay prebendaries, which are ftill attached to the 

 church. The college was granted by queen Ehzabcth in 

 1 58 1 to Edward Downing and Peter Afhton. An liofpital 

 was eftabhfhed in this town by Philip Marmion in the 15th 

 year of Edward I. On its fcite another was founded and 

 endowed by Mr. Guy, to whom the borough of Southwark 

 is indebted for the noble hofpital which bears his name. 

 A grammar-fchool, founded by queen Elizabeth, is ftill 

 wellfupported. Here are fome manufaftures, the chief of 

 which is that of fuperfinc woollen cloths : but this trade, 

 though ftill refpeftable, has much decreafed. The print- 

 ing of calicoes, the tanneries, the manufadlure of flax, and 

 the fpinning of yarn, are branches of bufinefs which have 

 confiderably advanced. A weekly market, under queen 

 Elizabeth's charter, is held on Saturdays : and three fairs 

 annually. In the population return of the year 181 1, the 

 Staffordftiire divifion of Tamworth was llated to contain 

 279 houfes, and 1327 inhabitants; the Warwickftiire divi- 

 fion 325 houfes, and 1666 inhabitants: making a total of 

 2993 perfons, occupying 604 houfes. 



About four miles fouth-eaft of Tamworth is Pooley-Hall, 

 the feat of the honourable colonel Finch. The lands at- 

 tached to this refidence formed part of the poffeffions of the 

 Marmions ; and after feveral intermediate tranfmifiions, came 

 to the family of Cokaine, in the latter part of the 14th cen- 

 tury. It is afccrtained that fir John Cokaine refided at 

 Pooley in the reign of Henry IV., and his defcendants, for 

 many generations, made it their principal feat. . The pre- 

 fent manfion was erefted by fir Thomas Cokaine, temp. 

 Henry VIII., and is a fine but irregular building, varying 

 in charafter between the embattled ftyle of the previous 

 troubled and fufpicious ages, and the open amplitude of 

 conftruftion then firft growing into praftice. — Beauties of 

 England and Wales, vol. xiii. Staffordfhire, and vol. xv. 

 Warwickfhire, by J. N. Brewer. 



Tamworth, a town of America, in New Hamp- 



TAN 



fliire ; 56 miles N. of Portfmouth ; containing 1134 m' 

 habitants. 



TAMYRACA, in ^Indent Geography, a town of Euro- 

 pean Sarmatia, near the Casrcinite gulf. 



TAN, the bark of the oak, chopped, and ground by a 

 tanning-mill into a coarfe powder ; to be ufed in the tan- 

 ning or drefling of flcins. See Taknix. 



New tan is the moft cftecmed ; when old and ftale, it lofes 

 a great deal of its effeft, which confifts in condenfing or 

 clofing the pores of the fliins ; fo that the longer the (kins 

 arc kept in tan, the greater ftrength and firmnefs they 

 acquire. 



This bark, which is more abundant in the gummy refinous 

 part than any of our common indigenous aftringents, and 

 which, on account of its aftringent, gummy, refinous pro- 

 perty, ferves both to preferve leather from rotting, and to 

 render it impervious to water, is preferred to all other fub- 

 ftances for the purpofe of tanning. It is ufed either in the 

 way of infufion, which is called ooze | or the dry powder is 

 ftrewed between layers of hides and flciiis, when thefe are laid 

 away in the tan-pits. The ooze is made by macerating the 

 bark in common water, in a particular fet of holes or pits, 

 which, by way of diftinftion from the other holes in the tan- 

 yard, are called letches. See Tanning. 



Every part of the oak-tree, of what age or growth foever, 

 is fit for the tanner's ufe, and all oaken coppice-wood, of 

 any fize or age, being cut and procured in barking-time, 

 will tan all forts of leather ; at leaft, as well as the baric 

 alone. When this material is got at the proper feafon, it 

 muft be very well dried in the fun, more than the bark alone ; 

 thence it is to be cut up, and preferved in a, covered place 

 for ufe. 



When it is to be ufed, the greater wood muft be firft 

 cleft fmall, to fit it for the beating and cutting-engine j 

 and the fmaller muft be put into the engine as it is : which 

 doitf, it muft be again dried upon a kiln, and after that, 

 ground in the fame manner that the tanners grind their bark. 

 Such wood as is to be ufed prcfcntly after it is gotten, will 

 require the better and the more drying upon the kiln ; and 

 if this is omitted, it will blacken and fpoil all the leather it 

 is ufed about. Where oak is fcarce, black-thorn, or floe- 

 tree, will tolerably well fupply its place ; and where that is 

 not to be had in fufiicient plenty, the white-thorn will do. 

 Phil. Tran. N^ 108. 



Birch alfo, being ordered in the fame manner with oak, 

 is fit for fome iifes in tanning, particularly it does very 

 well for tanning of flioe-fole leather. All thefe ingredients 

 will tan much better than bark alone ; and that with much 

 lefs charge ; fo that this difcovery may very well fave the 

 felhng of trees when the bark is wanted, at a feafon when 

 the fap is up, which, when it is done, caufcs the outfide of 

 the trees to rot and grow worm-eaten ; whereas, if the trees 

 had been felled in winter, when the fap is down, they would 

 have been almoft all heart, as the people exprefs it, and not 

 fubjeft to worms. This manner of ufing the wood with 

 the bark, in tanning, will alfo increafe the value of under- 

 woods very confiderably. Phil. Tranf. N° 105. 



The engine neceffary for cutting the wood confifts of a 

 long fquare wooden block, and fome pieces of iron to be 

 faftened on and ufed about it, viz. a hammer, an anvil, an 

 iron holding the wood to be bruifed and cut, and a knife to 

 cut it. The whole is a very fimple and cheap machine, and 

 is defcribed at large, and figured in the above-mentioned 

 number of the Philofophical Tranfaflions. 



By M. de Buffon's experiments upon different flcins, it 

 was found that a decoftion of young oak-wood fucceeded 

 perfeftly well in tanning fheep and calves' Ikins, but did 



not 



I 



